Restoration
by Eclair Designs
Summary: Missing for over two years, Alexis McKay manages to escape from her abusive captors only to find she's not in a world she was once in. Confused and afraid, Rick decides to help her, partly to atone his earlier inability to save Lori and helps her adapt to her new life. Full Summary Inside.
1. Escape

**Story Summary:**

Missing for over two years, Alexis McKay manages to escape from her abusive captors only to find she's not in a world she was once in. Confused and afraid, Rick decides to help her, partly to atone his earlier inability to save Lori and helps her adapt to her new life.

As Rick and Alexis's relationship deepens and she begins to believe her life has meaning once again, old faces begin to reappear, forcing her to face her horrid past face on.

**Author's Note: **

This story is rated M for rape, abuse and future lemons. I'll warn you right now, this first chapter contains rape. Please review/favorite/like!

**Restoration**

**Chapter 1: Escape **

Dull pain greeted her as she slipped back into wakefulness. She opened her eyes to find herself strung to the roof by her hands, completely vulnerable

She looked across from her to find Sarah on the opposite side of the room, lying on her back among the disheveled sheets of the dirty old mattress in the room, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

The bound woman heard the sound of the door opening and shifted her eyes to the side to see one of her captors enter the room.

The man at her side chuckled.

"Awake already?" he mused, his voice smooth and rich as ever. He then turned and took a quick glance at Sarah. "Looks like the dumb broad finally bit the dust. I guess she couldn't handle all of the abuse."

"Bastard," she croaked, her tongue feeling thick and dry inside her mouth.

He only seemed amused by her insult, smirking as he reached out to run fingers through her disheveled blonde strands.

Without warning, he hauled her forward into a rough kiss. He suckled at her lips before pushing his tongue past them, violating her mouth while she was unable to push him away. With no other way to defend herself, she did all she could. She summoned her strength and bit him hard.

The bite wasn't enough to draw blood, but it was enough to make her assailant grunt in pain and pull away, but instead of anger, he only continued to look at her with amusement.

"So much spirit," he chuckled. "No wonder the boss loves you so much. He likes watching the strong ones break down."

She hung her head low and listened to the man brutalized her without even using a weapon. His words were enough. Just then he turned to the table in the room and reached for the whip he had made himself out of rope and rubber. When she saw it she began thrashing which only made her arms hurt worse. She grew frightened when he stepped behind her. This was it. She knew what was next.

With one loud crack he whipped her, leaving three long gashes on her back. He smirked as she screamed in sheer, unadulterated agony. She could feel nothing but pain. The gashes were red and inflamed. He pulled back the whip again, cracking it a second time. Blood poured from her wounds and she could only cry as he continuously whipped her, until her entire back became unrecognizable.

He placed the whip back onto the table and stood in front of her. Her captor's hand fell to her breast, running over it softly before traveling down her stomach to the waistband of her panties and pulled them down on one side until her sex was revealed.

"Oh yeah," he practically growled, clearly approving of the sight before him.

He licked his thick lips in a way that made her shudder. His lustful eyes were fixed on her pale and bruised flesh as he brought his hand to her opening and inserted a single finger into the place he had forcibly abused several times.

She whimpered as she felt him slide inside her. She squirmed, desperate for him to remove his invading digit.

"What's the matter, baby?" He growled, pumping his finger in and out of her slowly, making sure she noticed how he easy it was for him to violate her any way he wanted. "Are you not enjoying this as much as I am?"

He inserted a second digit and sped up his ministrations, smirking as she submitted to him completely as she realized it was futile to resist him in her current situation.

"Good girl," he praised, withdrawing his fingers.

Rising panic filled the woman's already frantic mind as he stepped back, discarding his jacket and pulling the shirt he wore underneath over his head. His body was well sculpted, powerful muscles flexing beneath pale, scared skin. His hand went to the fly of his pants and her mouth went dry.

His pants dropped to the floor, revealing his erect member which he slowly pumped in his hand. He wasn't as long as the other men but he made up for it in girth, and it hurt. He came at her with his knife and in one swift motion he cut through the rope. She fell to the ground, limply becoming surrounded by her own blood.

As he took her by her tangled blonde locks, she grasped the cold dirt beneath her and threw it into her captor's face, blinding him for a moment.

She sprang up from the position she was in and legged it in the direction of the door. She had gotten to the door and was in the process of yanking it open when he launched himself at her in a diving tackle.

She fell heavily onto the floor and with the additional weight of the man on top of her, all the air was knocked out her lungs. "Get off of me!" She screamed. "Let me out of here!"

She tried to fight him off with all the energy she could muster, but it was no use. He climbed off her, picking her up as he began to stand and threw her down in the middle of the room.

She looked back up at him and saw the intense anger in his eyes. He truly looked like he was going to kill her at any given point. "I fucking warned you once not to try anything," He growled.

Through her sobbing she tried to tell him that she was sorry, but he cut her off, telling her not to apologize to him.

He tangled one his hands into her hair and pushed her down hard onto the cold dirt floor. "I'm going to teach you who's dominate around here."

"No!" She screamed, still containing the will to fight. She mustered as much as strength as she could to push him off of her, but it was futile.

Her screams could be heard throughout the entire house. The anguish and fear in her voice was unmistakable. He flipped her onto her back, straddling her hips as she clawed furiously at the man who was about to rape her. She shrieked as his nails dug deeply into her hips as he thrusted himself within her, her voice sputtering out to gasping sobs, in rhythm with his pounding.

He grabbed her by her wrists as she tried to fight him off. She was weak and had severe malnutrition. The fight was a short and feeble one. Her sobs trailed off into pained whimpers as the man continued his movements. She turned her head and opened her eyes, her shamed and hopeless gaze flitting over to Sarah.

Her eyes widen at the sight. On the ground, Sarah began to stir, deep breaths growing from deep within her. Her hands and arms begin to twitching on the mattress. She was dead, wasn't she? But how?

Her captor was too preoccupied with what he was doing to realize what was happening. "Sarah?" She whimpered.

Sarah opened her eyes, which, though always blue, were now suddenly an icy cool grey-blue, the pupils gone. Her eyes were bloodshot and she began to moan and paw at the air. She reached for her and her captor, grabbing at the ground as she began to pull herself up, growling.

She let out a shaky breath. Something was wrong, very wrong. She tried to push him away as Sarah began to stalk closer but he only thrusted harder, palms pressed to the ground on either side of her body, caging her in. "No," She gasped. "No! Get off!"

With an animalistic growl, he plunged into her several more times until he finished. Instantly, his vision was awash in white as released himself deep inside of her. As Sarah stood over them, her jaw opened wide their captor opened his eyes.

"Oh, fuck!" He yelled, withdrawing right as Sarah was about to attack him. As he scurried for his knife she took the momentary freedom and made a run for it. She grabbed her panties off from the floor and bolted out the door, shutting the heavy door and making sure to lock it behind her.

She glanced around the room frantically until her eyes landed on the china cabinet sitting beside the door. She pushed the heavy wooden cabinet in front of the door, ignoring the man's angry screams demanding to be set free.

With shaky hands, she slipped on her panties and crossed her arms over her bare breasts defensively to hide herself. She stumbled into the living room and out the front door that reeked of rotting flesh, causing her to choke on the smell.

As her eyes adjust to the sunlight she lumbers down the stairs and sees decayed rancid, fly-covered bodies in piles but what caught her attention was a ravaged body of a woman that used to be a captive in the house. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and backs away, confused and afraid.

She gasped as she heard a loud crash coming from inside the house and ran towards the grassy field that led to the woods. Furious, the captor threw the front door open just as a military vehicle pulled up.

"The fucking bitch escaped," He told the others. "She's heading towards the woods."

Two men wearing camouflage, army boots, and holding automatic rifles. Their leader sat in the driver's side and glanced up at the guard furiously. He threw the door open and reached for his rifle inside. He peered through the scope. And that's when he saw her. She was right in the open. He adjusted his scope before pulling the trigger, smirking as she landed hard onto the ground. "There. She won't get very far in her condition, especially with those things walking around." He said with a smirk. "Bring her to me. I'll deal with her myself when she returns. Go! "

The men nodded and sped off.

She ran fast as her body could carry her, ignoring the burning in the muscles of her legs as the tall grass on either side of her flew by in blurs of brown and green. Next thing she knew pain shot through her right shoulder. She cried out in pain as she fell to the ground like a ton of bricks. Her hand flew up to the wound, as she tried to slow the bleeding. The blood was hot as it trickled through her fingers.

The pain was unbearable and she was starting to feel nauseous. Everything around her was starting to spin and things were beginning to get blurry. A pained cry escaped her lips as she managed to pull herself up on her knees, ready to crawl towards the woods.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

The branches tore at her arms, the jagged rocks dug into her feet, her lungs screamed in pain as she gasped for breath. How long had she been running? It could've been hours; it could've been months. She had no idea where she was, all she knew was that she wasn't going back to that horrid basement ever again.

Eventually she came to a paved road and noticed a person wandering down the road, "Help!" She screamed. "Please, help me!"

The person slowly turned around and staggered in her direction. Tears of relief escaped from beneath her eye lashes, cutting wet trails down her cheeks as she stumbled towards her savior. As her savior closed in on her, it took her a moment to realize that whoever she was staring at was defiantly beyond normal.

A mutilated man, badly decayed, his right arm, nose and lips missing-reached for her, pathetically moaning in hunger. Terrified, she stumbled back and fell over.

"Jesus," She gasped, regaining herself a moment later, turned around, and hastily ran away.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

There was a pain in her left foot. At least that's where it started every time she took a step. A dull, throbbing ache pounding across her sole, it pulsed a few times, then traveled up through her ankle to her calf on its way to her knee, where it knocked around for a bit before traveling up through her thigh. It stopped only when she lifted her foot. That's when it started on the other side.

Though, she had plenty of more pressing issues to worry about. There was something about the prospect of imminent murder at the hands of insane rapists, decayed and mutilated people to keep you from thinking about being lost in the middle of nowhere.

She fought to keep these thoughts out of her mind, but it was getting harder and harder. The searing pain in her shoulder, back, feet and legs was keeping her anchored to reality.

She glanced over her shoulder, noting whatever or whoever was following her was a small ways behind her, giving her a chance to stop for a brief moment and catch her breath.

She took a step forward and felt the pain run up her leg, causing her to fall down. "No," She said. "Not now, please no."

She whipped her head around when she heard the growling coming closer. Clenching her jaw, she used her left hand to support her body and finally managed to stand up. She took a shaky step testing her leg, but fell once again. She was trapped. There was nothing more she could do. Tears of disappointment and anger ran down her cheeks. Her freedom was slipping away and her body was in no shape to run anywhere, or even crawl. She tried desperately to figure out how she was going to get out of this predicament

She screamed as she looked up and realized the dire situation. As it reached towards her, as though for love and leapt at her with jaws wide open. She rolled to her side, but was brought to a sharp halt as a needle like stab went through her entire body. She cried out in pain as she was violently slammed down to the ground.

She placed a hand on its face to keep it away as its jaws snapped at her hungrily. She scrabbled around at the ground for a weapon. She came up with a stone the size and weight of a brick. It would do. She would never forget the tingling sensation from the shock of the rock as it slammed into its head. She dropped the rock onto the ground as it sprawled out over the paved road.

Sobbing on the road, she called for help, questioning if any of this was real or if she's dreaming. On the ground, it began to stir. It reached for her, grabbing at the ground as it began to pull himself up, growling.

At the same time she hears engines rumble in the distance; a man riding a motorcycle, followed by a silver truck pulling up. The passenger side door of the truck flew open. A fairly tall Caucasian man with a slim figure with dark brown and wavy hair wearing black pants, cowboy boots and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up burst out.

"Daryl, take out the walker." He commanded.

Her gaze shifted to the man named Daryl. A slim built Caucasian man with brown hair and facial hair on his lip and chin, wielding a crossbow. He trained his crossbow on the 'walker' and fired an arrow into its head, taking it out in one swift blow.

"Hey," He said gently, walking towards where she still sat on the paved road. "It's okay. You're safe now."

He opened his arms to comfort her, but she was suddenly backing away, scrambling to avoid him.

Her hands came up to cross over her breasts defensively to hide herself, the thought of being touched by a man suddenly made her panic, but she instinctually knew she had to get away before something bad happened, before she was hurt.

"No," She wept. "Please no, just leave me alone. I don't want to go back, please don't take me back there."

He let his arms drop to his sides as she made it clear she didn't want to be touched.

"Rick," A male in his early twenties with black hair and a light complexion said as he tossed him a blanket which he easily caught.

"It's okay," He soothed. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She glanced fearfully at the gun in his hands. If Rick wanted to earn her trust, he knew what he needed to do.

"It's okay. Here" He said quickly tossing the gun onto the ground.

With little energy she had left, she leapt for the gun only for him to wrap his arms around her waist, foiling her plan. "No, don't." He said. "Don't. Stop. No."

She continued to write in his arms until she exhausted what energy she had left, Her eyes drifted shut as she lost consciousness, her last thoughts of being taken back to the place she feared most as tears escaped from beneath her eyelashes, cutting wet trails down her cheeks as she succumbed entirely to the darkness.

Rick breathed out a heavy sigh as he gathered the woman's unconscious form into his arms, draping the blanket over her. He stared hard at her. He recognized this woman from somewhere, but where?

"Well," Daryl said. "What do you want to do?"

And that's when it hit Rick. He remembered exactly where he saw this woman; on a missing person's bulletin he posted up on the board of the King County Sheriff's Office months before the world went to shit. "I know this woman." Rick said, turning his head towards Daryl and Glenn. "She's been missing for over two years."


	2. Awaken

**A/N: Sorry for the long, long wait everyone. Life has been a little crazy and this chapter was crazy to write. Thanks to the several people who favorite/followed Restoration as well as iheartteensoaps, scullybird (FanFiction) for reviewing. Here is the latest installment of Restoration. Don't forget to drop a review, let me know what you think! **

**Note: I had to do some thinking on the time setting of the story. It will take place a little over a month after the Governor's first attack. Before Rick began farming and the council was created. **

**Oh! Before I forget, I'm working on my OC's biographies. On the next chapter I'll post the link. **

**Chapter 2: Awaken**

Anger overcame him, overlaying a red film across his vision until everything appeared in shades of crimson. The leader slammed the balding man against the wall. His hand was around his thick throat before he could do as much as gasp in surprise.

"You fucking moron," Their leader seethed, his eyes ablaze with black fire. "You're telling me that a wounded, half dead, malnourished and dehydrated skinny little bitch just happened to out run your fat ass. And to make matters worse, you let my greatest prize fall into the hands of other survivors!"

The leaders hand tightened around the guard's windpipe as his dark eyes narrowed. The guard was trembling, a greasy film of sweat developing on his face.

"I'll bring her back. I swear." he sniveled.

The leader growled in rage, hauling the man forward only to slam him back against the wall.

"Now how are you going to go and do that?" He snarled, his voice low and dark with anger. "We don't even know where they took her!"

"I'm sorry!" The guard screamed, resolve crumbling as fear consumed him. "Yeah, she is gone, but it wasn't my fault. It was _him_!" He jutted his chin in the other guard's direction. "Ivan's the one who lost her to begin with, so you shouldn't be punishing me."

"Don't put this all on me," Ivan seethed. "I'm not the one who got carried away with one of the prisoners and just left her there to turn. You've gotten sloppy and I'm getting tired of being the one who has to clean up after your fucking mess."

"Both of you shut up!" The leader snapped irritably.

"T-There's more," The guard stuttered. "One of the men knows her."

The leader cocked his head to the side quizzically in an almost comical display, clearly surprised with the man's words.

"What was that?" He said slowly.

"He's seen her before," The guard said. "I overheard him mentioning something about posting a flyer in King County. I think he was a cop or something."

An amused smile slowly spread over the leader's face, replacing his astonished expression.

"Interesting," He chuckled. "What did this man happen to look like?"

"Caucasian, mid thirties, tall and slim with dark wavy hair," He said. "Some Asian kid called him by the name of Rick."

"Grimes!"

The leader's smile widened. "I could've sworn that son of a bitch got shot," He said. "Oh, this is just too good. Who would've guessed ol' Rick Grimes would make it this far."

"H-He also mentioned a prison," The guard stammered. "I think maybe they might have taken her."

"And why did you wait till now to mention this?!" The leader growled, shaking him hard. "Did you happen to find this so called prison?"

He shrank further into the wall as if he hoped he could sink through it and escape the scathing stares fixed upon him.

"No," he whimpered.

The leader growled in frustration and drew his pistol and placed it under the guards chin, pulling the trigger. He straightened and smoothed a hand over his short hair as he walked away. As almost an afterthought, he looked over his shoulder.

"When Vasquez returns I want the two of you to find this so called prison," He said. "I want confirmation that she's indeed there. If so, send in Vasquez to retrieve her. He's the only one she hasn't met face to face. She'll never know what hit her."

Ivan nodded mutely, signaling that he understood.

Without another word, the leader exited the room.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

Carol rang the excess water from the washcloth into the large bowl and carefully wiped around the tender edges of the wounds on the unconscious woman's back before reapplying fresh dressing.

Alexis McKay. That was her name, or least that's what Rick remembered her by. It had been over a day since they brought her to the prison, and she still showed no signs of waking up. Carol's heart ached for the woman. She herself knew what it was like to be a victim of abuse. But what she sustained from Ed wasn't anything compared to what this woman had suffered. She could only imagine the demons that tormented her.

Carol pulled her clothes back in place and carefully rolled the woman onto her back when Rick walked through the door.

"Any changes?" he asked, breaking Carol out of her thoughts.

She peeled the dressing from her outer thigh, revealing a burn, the skin still blackened in some places and red and swollen in others. Carol knew a burn like this had to be extremely painful, especially when left untreated for so long. While her shoulder and back had been uninfected, her thigh was not so lucky. The skin was far too hot to the touch, and she could see how the wound was still oozing slightly, only now the liquid was yellowish and opaque.

"No," Carol said with a sigh. "Her fever's spiked. She needs to start on what's left of the antibiotics soon or she'll end up with sepsis."

She stood up and dipped the cloth into the water, ringing the excess water out. As she turned around, she halted for a brief moment as she heard a soft murmur come from the makeshift bed.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

Alexis awoke feeling groggy, disoriented, and slightly nauseous. Every inch of her body ached like crazy. Using all the strength she could muster, she forced her eyelids open.

She blinked owlishly, as her vision was blurry and the noise around her was slow.

A quick look around told her that she was no longer at that horrible place, but inside a large and rather unkempt looking building. Perhaps a prison would have been a better description of her location, for the drab foyer of concrete and peeling paint, and the windows barred.

"It's okay," The distorted voice said. "Don't move. Everything will be okay."

She could feel her pulse immediately quicken as the blurred forms advanced her slowly. However, the action seemed to cause Alexis to panic. She gasped and scrambled out of bed.

"Stop. It's okay." The voice reassured, "You're okay."

Carol held out a hand to help her get up, but she pushed her away. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she stumbled to feet, frantically trying to find a way around her captor's.

Rick took a step toward Alexis, holding out a hand to her. "It's alright."

Alexis back away, tears forming in her eyes. "Stay away from me." She said. "Just let me out. I want to go home."

"Okay. Okay." Rick said calmly. "I'll do that. But first I need you to calm down and listen. I need you to trust me."

"Right now, I don't trust anyone." She stepped back from him. Her back was up against the wall.

"And that's understandable considering what you've been through," Rick said. "But you can trust me. I'm not going to hurt you, no one here is. You have my word on that."

She sniffled back a sob.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" She cried. "I don't even know who you are!"

"My name is Rick Grimes," He said. "I was a policeman for the Sheriff's Department in King County."

Her head was spinning and she found she could barely breathe as the words rolled off his tongue.

_No. No. No! _

"Come on, Alexis," Rick said as gently as he could. He reached out and took her hand. "Everything's going to be alright."

Alexis' head snapped towards the sound of the cell door opening to see one the men she encountered on the road enter the room.

"Easy, Rick." Daryl said. Carol gasped her agreement.

Rick waved them back. He had this under control.

Slowly, calmly he took her other hand in his. "It's all going be okay," he said.

Alexis gazed up into his eyes, as he felt the impact of her knee meet his gut, knocking the air right out from his lungs. She was then waylaid by Daryl. She then began thrashing around in response, trying to somehow get out of his grasp.

"Calm down," Daryl growled. "Stop fighting me."

She screamed, pressing her foot against the wall and pushed back with all her strength. "Stop, damn it!" Daryl barked. "We're not gonna hurt you."

Alexis was gasping and groaning hysterically as she tried to break herself from his grasp.

Daryl growled in frustration. The woman was far too hysterical to listen to a word they had to say.

Taking his dominant arm he wrapped it around the neck of the woman, his bicep pressed against one side of her neck and his forearm pressed against the other side. He applied pressure to both sides of the neck by squeezing his forearm and bicep together.

He grabbed the bicep of his free arm with his dominant hand, using his other hand to press the woman's head forward toward the elbow of his dominant arm, keeping her from being able to breathe.

Immediately he relaxed his hold as the woman went limp, but did not unlock his arms. He relaxed his hold enough to allow her to breathe again as they both sunk to the floor.

"Great job, Daryl," Carol said irritably. "How do you expect her to trust us after that?"

"Hell if I know." He said with a shrug as Carol resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Scooping her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing, Daryl carried her limp form back into the holding cage.

Rick reached into his back pocket. Pulling out a pair of handcuffs he grabbed Alexis' wrist and handcuffed her to the metal pole as a precaution.

"She doesn't leave this cell for nothing." Rick growled as he stormed out of the room, running fingers through his hair in frustration.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

Alexis awoke feeling stiff and sore. The wounds on her back and shoulder ached with every breath. As she moved her left arm to rub the sleep off from her eyes, she heard a loud clang and realized she only had limited mobility. She turned to look at her left hand. It was handcuffed to a pole.

Suddenly, Alexis knew she was not alone, the sound of footsteps stopping on the other side of the cell door.

The key turned and the metal door cracked open, wider, wider. And then there he was, a stool in hand, making his way towards her. All she could do is watch as he lowered himself into the simple, wooden stool beside her as he stared at her long and hard. For a long moment he said nothing, his expression neutral as she held her breath in trepidation.

"I can remove those," He finally said, jutting his chin in the direction of the handcuffs. "But I need your word that you won't try to run from us again."

Alexis shifted her eyes to his face, wondering what sort of game he was playing.

"And if I give you my word, do you promise to let me go?"

"In all good consciousness I can't," He said. "It's not safe out there."

The blonde haired woman lowered her gaze, not saying another word to her captor in front of her.

"I got you some antibiotics. You have a pretty serious fever. They'll help bring that down." Rick said as he reached for an orange prescription bottle and a bottle of water that were sitting on the metal bench. Her gaze shifted to the prescription bottle in his hand and then back to him. "I'm not trying to drug you, they really are just antibiotics."

Alexis said nothing.

"You're dehydrated," He continued. "Can you drink?"

She slowly sat up, causing Rick to take a quick jerk towards her. "Easy." He said.

Alexis scurried way from him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Rick assured.

"Where am I?" She said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"A safe place," He replied. "Far from whoever did this to you."

"You…know my name." She said.

"Yes," Rick nodded. "You were Linden County's District Attorney. Best I can figure, it's been a little over two years since you went missing."

"Is that all it's been?" She said dejectedly, casting her eyes downwards to the disheveled sheets. She had lost track of how long she had been with those men, of how long they had been raping and torturing her.

"Alexis," Rick said. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to see you get better."

"Then why didn't you take me to the hospital?" She asked, her throat tightening in irritation.

Rick stared at her quizzically for a moment before shaking his head.

"You know why."

"No, I don't." She replied.

Rick gaped at her, blue eyes wide in disbelief.

"Because you saw what's out there." He said. "The Walkers? You were even attacked by one."

The woman shook her head, sending blonde bangs into downcast eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You and I both know that's not true." Rick said.

Hesitantly, she lifted her eyes to meet his.

"I was delusional," She said. "I haven't had anything to eat or drink in days."

Rick's eyes grew wide with the revelation that her captors had concealed what had happened with the world from her.

"Your abductor, didn't he mention what happened?" Rick asked.

She felt tears begin to form in her eyes, but she blinked them back angrily.

"Please…just let me go." She pleaded as she choked back the tears. "I have a family. A husband and a daughter, they need to know that I'm okay…that I'm alive. They need closure."

"I don't know how else to tell you this," Rick said hesitantly. "There's nothing left out there. There's no Army, no Government, no hospitals, no police, no phones, no computers, it's all gone."

Her jaw clenched at his words and shook her head stubbornly; refusing to believe the words he spoke.

"You're lying," She growled as she faced away from him, running fingers through her hair in frustration.

"It's the truth." Rick said.

"So, what are you going to do with me?" She asked.

"Nothing." He replied.

For a moment, there was silence in the room, stillness so dense that they could feel it pressing down on them with suffocating weight until at last Alexis spoke, the worried tone clearly audible in her voice.

"Are you…going to rape me?" She said softly, voice wavering.

"Rape you? No."

"Then what are you going to do?" She snapped, at least lifting her eyes to meet his pair.

"Nothing, I'm not gonna do anything." He said, his voice a low growl of impatience and anxiety. He opened the pill bottle and pulled out a single pill. "Look, you can't even think straight with a fever like that. You need to take these."

She swatted the pill out of his hands. "I'm not taking anything," She said. "I want to go home. Take these damn handcuffs off and let me out!"

Rick bent down to retrieve the pill and stared at her.

"I'm trying to help you," Rick said.

"How are you helping me, you're keeping me from my family!" She cried. "You're no better than the monsters who kept me captive all this time."

Something inside Rick snapped as Alexis spoke those poisonous words. Rick felt his jaw clench in anger. Without thinking, the former Sheriff Deputy stepped forward, grabbed her roughly by the wrist.

"We saved your life," he said, his voice dangerously low. "We brought you somewhere safe and gave you medical treatment. We could've just left you there for that walker to tear you into shreds. Or worse, let you fall back into the hands of those _monsters_."

Alexis could see Rick's eyes had hardened. The intensity of his stare was starting to frighten her, thoughts haunted by the men who had grabbed her the same way and she couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes.

Rick could see her blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her body posture betrayed how dejected she felt. Her dismal expression evaporated his anger. He released her wrist and without another word, he walked out of the room and locked the door behind him with the loudest click she had ever heard. Alexis stood abruptly, pulling furiously against the handcuffs.

"No, please, let me go!" She pleaded. "I can't…I can't go through it again, not again! Just…kill me now! Please!" Her last word extended into a howl of pain.

Overwhelmed by grief and exhaustion, she sank to her knees in the dim cell. The tears came all at once in a flood she could not control. Sobs wracked her body and sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet of her own cell. She cried and cried. Her throat felt tight and her eyes puffy. She could taste the salt of her tears and still they continued to flow. She cried until she felt empty inside, a mere shell, a husk of a person that would blow away in the breeze.

After a time she managed to get to her feet. She no longer felt like being conscious. She was just too overwhelmed and could no longer endure. She peeled back the covers, collapsed into bed and pulled them up over herself. Her last coherent thought was she hoped she could sleep and sleep and never wake up.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

"It's a fucking miracle she ain't dead," Daryl said. "No one could go through something like that and have a life again."

"People might be stronger than you think," Hershel said. "Give her some time."

Daryl nearly scoffed aloud. "Believe me, on this one, you're wrong." He said. "There ain't no coming back from something like that."

"Well, we need to do something," Carol said. "We can't just keep her locked up. It's not fair."

"Carol's right," Rick agreed. "She's been through enough. I don't see her as a threat to us or the prison."

"Can we trust her?" Sasha asked. "She could be working alongside the Governor for all we know. This could all be just one big setup."

Rick shook his head. "I doubt that. The look on her face told me she had no knowledge of what had happened."He said. "I'll take responsibility for her. If she causes a problem, it's on me."

"She escaped from her captor," Glenn said, unable to remain silent any longer. "Surely he'll come looking for her. You saw what he did to her. Who knows what else he's capable of, for all we know-"

"For all we know, he may believe she's dead." Rick said.

"And if you're wrong?" Tyreese asked.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Rick replied. "In the mean time I'm going to give her what she wants. Maybe that will be the wake-up call she needs."

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

Rick inserted the key into the key hole and turned it to the left, unlocking the cell door. Alexis' head snapped towards the sound and huddled in the corner of the bed. She swallowed nervously, momentarily frozen by fear as the slim man advanced slowly, followed by Daryl.

The two men exchanged looks before Rick removed the handcuffs and grabbed her free arm and pulled her to her feet. "Where are we going?" She whimpered, voice growing high and thin with panic. "Where are you taking me?"

"Quiet." Rick ordered.

Rick stopped in front of the steel door. He reached out, fingers wrapping around the iron handle, and pulled the heavy door open. She winced at the sudden light, temporary blinded by the sun's rays. As her eyes adjusted to the outside, her eyes scanned frantically at her surroundings. The Prison boasted three fences that surrounded the entire penitentiary, one main dirt road leading to the entrance as well as many guard towers around the perimeter.

She tried to pull away from him but he tightened his grip. "Come on, move." Rick barked, pulling Alexis along roughly.

She sniffled softly, finally raising her head to look at him with those captivating eyes and he could see she was confused and frightened by his behavior.

"Please…don't." She pleaded.

"Just move," Rick said.

Tears fell from her eyes, cutting wet trails down her cheeks. "What are you going to do?"

"You're free to go," Rick said, releasing her arm then pointed outside the prison. "But before you do, you might want to reconsider before walking through those gates."

Alexis turned her head in the direction where Rick was pointing. Her eyes went wide, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she could finally make the words come out.

"This can't…is this real?"


	3. Escape Into Hell

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone! Life has been pretty hectic, but here is the next installment of Restoration. Thanks to those who reviewed/favorite and followed! Please, keep the feedback coming, totally makes my day! **

**Also, the story will pick up a lot faster in the next chapter or two. Right now I got to focus building my character up and not rush it. Though, I honestly can't wait for all the action to occur! **

**Chapter 3: Escape into Hell**

"This can't…is this real?" She said, as her gaze shifted to the decayed corpses roaming through the field aimlessly.

She screwed her eyes closed, praying that when she opened them again, this would turn out to be some terrible nightmare, but afraid if it was she'd wake up back in that horrible place. Steeling herself, Alexis took a deep breath and pulled open the prison gate, walking towards the prison yard.

"Where are you going?" Rick asked. "You won't make it very far in your condition, especially with a fever like that. You'll pass out before you even make it to wherever it is your going."

Alexis shook her head brusquely. "I want to see," She said, words punctuated by wheezing breaths.

Without another word, Rick and Daryl followed Alexis to the prison yard.

"W-what is this?" She stammered, absolutely clueless as to what she was seeing.

"We call them walkers," Rick said.

"Vicious and hungry bastards," Daryl said. "They'll tear you to shreds in a matter of seconds if you let them. Whatever happens, don't get bit."

She swallowed hard. "And if a person gets bit by one of these 'walkers'," she said. "What happens to them?

"The infection spreads fast. Immediate amputation is the only reliable way to survive a walker bite on appendage, though if a walker's bite occurs on the body itself, the likelihood of survival is extremely low." Rick said.

The woman turned back around to the walkers before her

"So…it's some type of disease." She panted, her brow sweating from the pain of her injuries and the exertion of walking.

"Yeah, and we're all infected." Rick replied, nodding.

Slowly, she turned around to face Rick, not quite sure if she had actually heard him right.

"What do you mean we're all _infected_?" Alexis said, practically spitting the last word.

"If I was to kill you, you come back as one of these things." Daryl said. "It's gonna happen to all of us."

'So I wasn't just seeing things. Sarah did in fact come back to life.' Alexis thought with a degree of annoyance but instead of verbalizing her thoughts she shifted her gaze once again to the roaming corpses outside the fence.

"As far as we can see, half of the population has been wiped out, probably more." Rick said.

Half? Then what of William and Aubrey? Did they somehow miraculously make it out of this alive and are out there somewhere safe and away from all of this? Or were they among the people who were wiped out, fallen victim to these disease ridden _things_?

This could not be happening. This could _not_ be happening.

Her breathing became heavy, for in her head her mind was conjuring up possible images that could accompany what she was seeing outside those gates and she didn't like any of them.

Alexis's heart clenched as the visions of their smiling faces filled her mind. She wouldn't get to feel William's strong arms around her or listen to the steady beat of his heart. Aubrey in fact never had the chance to grow old, kiss a boy or to fall in love. She honestly didn't know whether to consider her freedom, her survival a blessing or a curse.

She had been able to spend a couple precious years with Aubrey after she was born where she was reminded what it was like not just to exist, but to truly _live_. However, now that she and William were both gone, the world was darker than it had ever been. She wished she could see them just one more time. Why were they being taken away from her when she finally managed to escape from her captor's after so long?

After a long moment Rick decided to speak. "I know how it must sound." He said. "And I know it's a lot to take in but-"

Alexis let out a humorless chuckle, cutting him off.

"A lot?" She scoffed. "A lot is putting it mildly don't you think? We're living in a world where dead people come back to life! What of my husband, my daughter?! I don't even-"

Her sentence remained unfinished as she staggered backwards a few steps. The several minutes of exerting herself while she had only just recovered was taking its toll and it left her weak and shaky.

Rick grabbed her arm to support her before she fell as he asked if she was all right, his voice laced with concern. She gasped and suddenly pushed him away. "Don't touch me!" She said, "I just need a minute to-"

"You're not waiting another minute," Rick said sternly. "You've worked yourself too hard. You need to rest." He turned to Daryl who had been watching their exchange casually. "Go on and head back to the prison. We'll be right behind you."

"You sure?" he said, cocking his head slightly as he stared at Alexis.

The former Sheriff's Deputy gave a curt nod. Without another word, Daryl gave him a friendly pat on the arm before he left, leaving Rick and Alexis staring at each other.

"How do I know you're not like those men?" She said, quietly as she twisted her fingers together nervously.

"You don't," he said after a thoughtful pause, trying to conjure up the right words that wouldn't frighten her. "It's a leap of faith you're going to have to take. I lost people here, good people along with my wife. I don't want to see any more innocent people die."

Alexis still look hesitant so he added in a gentler voice, "Here, you don't believe me," he said, pulling out his knife and turning the blade towards him so she could grab the handle. "Take it."

"No."

"Take it," he commanded gently. "It's yours. You're going to need it in case there comes a time when you have to defend yourself."

With trembling hands, Alexis hesitantly let her fingers wrap around the knife's handle. "Oh…"

"I'm sorry this happened to you," Rick said softly, "What you've lost. What you've been through. But, I can help you. You can stay here with us and you can heal. You don't have to worry about them anymore. It's over now."

Overwhelmed by grief, joy and exhaustion she sank to her knees and dissolved into tears, sobbing so hard that her words couldn't be made out by him. He silently knelt next to her as he slowly placed his hand over the blonde's wrist and removed the knife from her hand.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

As tired as she was, Alexis wanted to shower before anything else. She cranked on the water, her body protested strongly at the cold droplets, piercing her like needles but she grit her teeth and endured it. Alexis' head came to rest against the cold tile with a heavy thunk. It appeared the world was against her.

She hadn't wanted this, and now that it was all over she felt even worse than she had before, because her escape felt as though it had all been for nothing. She had failed his victim's and she had failed her family. Just thinking of them made her heart sink. Even if they were alive, what would she say? How could she face them after what she did, especially Will. He would be so angry and disappointed in her that he probably wouldn't even want to look at her, let alone call her his wife.

The tears came unbidden, but she didn't try and stop them, knowing she was alone for now. She let them flow down her cheeks as silent sobs wracked her body.

'I'm sorry,' she thought to herself as the cold drops began to sting. 'A person like me doesn't deserve forgiveness let alone be saved.'

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

The courtyard was filled with an enticing aroma as Carol stirred the pot of bubbling soup. Carrots, onions and rice were mixed in with the red sauce and the children were practically salivating, whining every two minutes about how long it was taking to cook. Carol shooed the children away as she placed the lid back onto the pot. It was almost done and soon their meal would be served.

"Word around the prison is you brought a new one in." Michonne said, curious to find out more about the girl who would now be living in the same cell block as her.

Rick smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah," he said with a sigh, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "She's been through some really bad stuff. "I'm helping her deal with it."

"Do you feel guilty? Because of what happened to your wife?" Michonne asked. "Is that why you saved her, why you brought her here?"

The former Sheriff's Deputy froze outside the metal door to the entrance of Cell Block C as a sharp pain stabbed at his chest, cutting deeper than any knife blade. He had been so careful about shielding himself from the emotional pain from Lori's incident that he had forgotten how much it hurt.

Michonne saw him stiffen and her eyes narrowed, thinking she had found the truth.

Rick wheeled to face her, eyes burning dark with anger.

"That's not it," Rick snapped irritably, his mood having turned from pleasant to sour at just the mention of his belated wife. "She would've died out there on her own. I couldn't just leave her."

The brown haired man said nothing more as he trudged into the prison, knowing he was being irrational and that it was unfair to Michonne to vent his frustrations like this, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

It was hard to tell what time it was inside the windowless room she now called home, but upon returning from the open-air, Alexis guessed it was around four thirty, her internal clock more accurate than most.

Alexis rolled over and quietly recalled just what she had seen earlier that afternoon and knew time was ticking away before she would have to do the same thing. The people here had made it look so easy to adjust to this new world, and if she wanted to survive, she would have to find a way to adjust herself.

She climbed out of bed and padded to the metal bench to grab her boots. Fortunately she was able to get some fresh clothes, forgoing the drab clothes she was wearing when she woke. In honor of the weather, she wore a pair of boot cut jeans that set low on her hips. It had probably been a dark blue once but had since faded. On top she wore a soft gray long sleeved Tallie Top that clung to her every curve, along with a pair of brown engineer boots.

Alexis couldn't believe she was doing this. She really didn't feel like meeting the people here in this prison, let alone talk to them. She wanted to stay curled up in a corner where she could cry and blubber to her heart's content, but she had been doing that since she had arrived here and it was starting to get old. So when Rick informed her it was time to introduce herself, she pushed away her initial inclination to decline and agreed to meet them in a few hours after she had some rest.

**~THE WALKING DEAD~**

Alexis had been so engrossed in what she was doing that she hadn't noticed Rick standing in the doorway. He said nothing, simply watching her silently as she slipped on her boots and noticed she winced slightly as she moved her arm.

"How's your shoulder?" He asked softly,

Alexis let out a gasp and turned her head to the voice, but when she realized it was Rick, she deflated. "You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that." She said as she pulled the hem of each pant leg down over the top of the boot.

Rick smiled a little, thankful that she had actually spoken more than a few words to him since their departure from the yard.

"Here," he said, reaching into his pocket and extracting a large pill. "Take it. This will clear that infection you have going on in that leg of yours and that fever down."

Alexis eyed the single pill. From the moment she was taken, she was force-fed various types of pills from her captors and she wasn't about to take anything else anytime soon.

"Keep it," She said, making no move to take the pill from his outstretched hand. "Someone might really need it one day."

The former Deputy was clearly growing irritated with her.

"Look, sooner or later you're going to have to start giving people a chance."

Rick could she still looked hesitant and added in a gentler voice, "Please, you need to take it."

She let out an exasperated sigh and took the pill as if the whole thing was more trouble than it was worth.

Rick smiled, partly because he had won the fight.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, knowing full well she was.

The woman hadn't noticed her hunger before but his question instantly reminded her that she hadn't had anything to eat in days and silently nodded.

"Come on."

He turned and beckoned for her to follow him.

"Was it true," she spoke hesitantly, stopping in her tracks and refusing to go another step until he answered her question. "What you said about your wife?"

Rick winced as if her words had been a physical blow and turned his head to look at her. He should have known she would bring that up. The last thing he wanted to talk about was his belated wife.

"Yes," He affirmed quietly.

"How did it happen?" She asked.

He took a deep breath as a fresh wave of guilt washed over him at the thought of her, another life he couldn't save.

"Complications." He replied curtly.

"Did…she turn?" she said,

A moment of suffocating silence passed between them.

"No." Rick finally said, as he turned on his heel and made his way out the door.

As she walked side by side with the tall man, Alexis swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling apprehensive about the whole thing.

"I don't know if I can do this."

Rick could sense the panic and desperation rising in the woman's voice and his heart went out to her and since He had never been in that sort of situation, he couldn't really relate to what she was going through but he sympathized all the same.

He stopped walking and noticed Alexis had been staring at her own feet as she walked, her slightly bruised and cut face scrunched into a worried expression.

"I'll be with you," he said, "You can overcome this. It's just going to take some time."

Unfortunately, his words did little to soothe her and her shoulders dropped visibly.

"You survived two years with those men," he continued. "You're a strong person, so don't say you can't do this because I _know _you can."

She took a deep breath, keeping her gaze steady. "Okay. Okay. Okay." She said. "I'll go. I'll do it."

Rick nodded and Alexis immediately felt a pleasant heat warm her as he pushed open the door. The courtyard was very large and was warmer and brighter than any of the other places where she had been held. A blissful sigh escaped her as she enjoyed the rays of the sun on her face. She had forgotten how wonderful the sunshine could be.

The outdoor picnic area was crammed with several shabby but comfortable looking chairs as well as tables and various outdoor planters, but all that was hardly worth mentioning in comparison with the ten pairs of striking eyes that were all currently trained on her.

It appeared that seven of the ten occupants had been huddled around the large table playing some sort of card game while an older gentleman with long white hair was sitting comfortably on one of the chairs with a book in hand. The last two were standing by the makeshift kitchen, a tall woman with short salt and peppered hair, and the man who assisted Rick earlier that morning named Daryl. Apparently, these activities were far less interesting than staring at the girl in front of them.

"Alexis, the large group huddled together in the corner over there is, Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Sasha, Tyreese, Michonne and Carl." He said, then turned and pointed a finger to the two standing under the patio cover. "You've already met Daryl and the woman standing beside him is Carol, she and Hershel sitting on that chair over there were the ones who tended to you when we brought you in. Everyone, this is Alexis. She's gonna join us."

At first, nobody spoke at all and just continued to stare quietly and Alexis was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Maybe they weren't really receptive to newcomers.

However, Carol finally shattered the silence.

"I'm glad you decide to stay," Carol said with a smile before gesturing for her to come sit down, "Hungry?

'Keep it together, Alex,' she thought to herself as she sat down. "Everything's going to be okay, just breathe. Try to act _normal_.'

Alexis plastered a smile on her face, hoping it looked somewhat genuine. She was determined to not let her distress show and kept her smile in place.

"Well, I honestly never expected to end up in a place like this," Alexis replied truthfully. "But I didn't really didn't have much of a choice."

"The same goes for _all_ of us," Tyreese said, throwing down his hand of cards and stood from his chair. "None of us ever thought we would be doing what we do but here we are, brought together for one reason or another."

Everyone nodded in unison and Alexis could sympathize. Fate had led them here and this was now their life.

"Soup is ready," Carol announced as Tyreese passed out bowls. The blonde noted that while the soup she had cooked certainly looked impressive, after moderate portions had been divided up among everyone, there was nothing left.

Alexis found herself poking half-heartedly at the food in her bowl. Despite not having anything to eat in days, she found what little appetite she had disappeared completely, despite the soup's enticing aroma, but she forced herself to eat a few spoonfuls rather than attract more unwanted attention to herself by not eating.

While they were so engaged in their conversations, Alexis found herself losing her focus. Her eyes drifted aimlessly over the infected outside the prison gates. That's when she saw him: a single face standing out with the crowd of walkers. His light colored hair and clean shaven face contrasted with the rest of the grotesque and decayed walkers who roamed aimlessly outside the prison perimeter.

She focused in on him and his smirk deepened as if he knew she was watching him. Alexis gasped aloud and nearly fell from her chair when her eyes met his, and felt something cold clench in the pit of her stomach. He had come for her.


End file.
